Valve



March 8, 1938. E. B. iCROCK ER VALVE Filed Nov. 15, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet l fnveizw; Ernest Cmckez; M 1% Mi il'ch 8, 1938. E. B. CROCKER VALVE ,Filed Nov. 15, was 2 Shee ts-Shec t 2 r, M w. B C m H Patented 8, 1938 meme Moore, Inco Duration of New Jersey Application November l3, 1935, Serial No. 49,541

and relates 40laims.

This invention pertains to valves, more particularly to an improved'valve seat and cooperating valve feather. While the novel construction herein disclosed is of more general utility, itis particularly designed with reference to relief 'valves intended automatically to open in response to a predetermined fluid pressure and for use in places where the fluid medium is a gas, for example, cool air. For such uses it has been found in practice that a leak-tight contact between the valve seat and feather is diflicult to make or maintain since the slightest imperfection in machining parts or the lodgment of dust, lint, scale, or other foreign matter between the valve fluid.

Ithas heretofore been proposed to make one of the contact surfaces, that is to say, either the feather or the seat surface, of a yieidable resilient material, for the necessity for extreme accuracy in machining the parts and to compensate for foreign matter which may lodge between the surfaces. However, as heretofore applied, such resilient material has substantial disadvantages. For example, resilient materials (characteristically like rubher) have a. tendency to stick to the opposed metal surface under conditions of use, it being apparent that the relief valve may, under some circumstances, remain closed for a long period of time, during all of which the resilient material is held under substantial pressure against the opposing metal surface. Such sticinng of the parts introduces an element of uncertainty into the operation of the valve, the reluctance of the additional but indeterminate load, thus sometimes delaying the opening of thevalve beyond the danger point. 40 Furthermore, the ready yielding of the resilient face, .in response to the 50 with a sharp closing action, and that it retain these characteristics throughout a long period of use. The principal object of the present 'invention is to provide a substantially leakproof relief 55 valve for. use in particular with air or other gas um'rsn s'rnras' PATENT orifice;

VALVE Ernest B. Crockcn'StragoI-d, 0cm, usignor,

feather and seat permits leakage of the gaseous" example, rubber, in order to avoid' valve parts to separate acting, in eflect, as an material, when used for example as a seat surpressure of the feather, varies the shape and effective area of the surface "3 New York, Y., a cor and a rz: :v v characteristics.

Other objects are the above-mentioned desirable to provide a valve' having which, at the In the accompanying drawings wherein one desirable embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of example, but without intent thereby to limit the applicability of the principle of the invention, g v

'Fig. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a relief valve em .the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing the valve feather removed from the valve casing;

Fig. 2* is a fragmentary elevation, partly invertical section, showingdetails of the guide portion of the valve feather;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the top member of the valve feather;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical section. to scale, of the upper portion ofthe member of the valve casing, showing details of the improved seat;

Fig. 4- is a fragmentary vertical section illustrating the relative positions of the parts when the valve feather is fully loaded and resting on the seat;

Fig. 5 is a similar fragmentary section, but showing the relative positions of the valve feather and seat at the instant of popping: and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary section illustrating the invention as applied to a different type of valve, with the feather and the seat in the same relative position as shown in Fig. 5.

For convenience in description the'present invention is herein illustrated as embodied in a ent constructions and types.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral l designates the base portion of the valve casing, here shown as provided with the screw-threaded nipple 2 by means of which the casing may be fixed in position withrespect to a container for pressure fluid. The upper part 3 of the base member I is shaped to provide an annular valve seat, hereinafter more fully described, such seat being located at the upper end of and concentric with the passage I through which the pressure fluid escapes from the container when the valve is opened. A valve feather 5, hereinafter more fully in a'cavity i4 outer surface 2 described, cooperates withthe seat to prevent is provided with a cylindrical u standing guide eseapeoffluidundernormal eonditions.. flange II. In this. instance the washer 2| is 'lhe upper'portion of the base member I is ex-' clamped the under surface of the valve ternallyscrew-threaded at! for engasement with feather i by the head 2' of a screw 21 which thelower part of the bonnet I. This bonnet lhas screw-threaded enmement with a borein eem nses the hollow top portion I which houses the feather r. I theloadingspringi, tensionofwhichmay Whenthevalveisfullyloalleitthervalveseal; bevariedifdesired bymeanlofthe surfaces and 2! indenttheruilientwasber seatsandthe the normal blowing pressure,

provided with w ma guide portion with a screwbore II, which receives a screw-threaded plug ll projecting downwardly from the .center of the feather I. The lower surface of the feather I is provided with ashallow,

2. (Fig. 2") concentric with the feather and adapted to hold a synthetic rubber or rubber combined with other for example, fiber so as somewhat to increase its resistance to compression or distortion. 'lhe upper end 22 (l 'lg. 2) of-the guide portion is substantially flat and when the feather and its guide portion 2| is firmly clamped against the surface 22.

The valve seat, in accordance with thepresent invention, and as here way of example, comprises a concentric annular ribs whose free upper edges actually form the valve seat. As shown, this seat (Fig. 3) comprises the inner surface 22 and the 20, these surfaces beingseparated by the annular recess 25. In accordance with the preferred construction, the seat surface 23 is in a plane somewhat higher than the seat surface 24, so that when the valve feather moves toward itsnormal closed position, the washer 2| engages the seat surface 23 before touching the seat surface 24,

The surfaces 23 and 2! when the valve feather rests upon them they will collectively provide sufficient surface areato support the maximum load of the spring at the pressure at which the valve is set, while providing a fluid-tight contact between the resilient washer 1 2| and the respective seat surfaces. It is obvious that when the valvefeather is seated, the inner seat surface 23 will indent the resilient material of the washer 2| more deeply than does the outer seat surface 24.

In Fig. 6 a slight modification is illustrated, wherein the valve feather 5 instead of having a guide portion which slides in the fluid pass ge r in i v s the valve seat to from contact with the resilient washer. At about I this time some leakage commences give. a huddling chamber -ployed in steam to stick to the resilient washer,

are assembled. the washer specifically illustrated by plurality of spaced are so designed that vention is not to be member 2| ,-as' tedinFlgJJndthus pro even for suchfluids astesting the valve;

In accordance with a preferred embodim t I but'a single seat member ,were qnployed.

of the invention. the valve feather comprises a As the pressure beneath the valve feather rises guide portion I8 (Figs. 2, 2- and'5) which exand w m ev pping point, the comprestends down into the fluid-escape passag I, such i s r nft resfllentwasher fin l bec e an effective factor in assisting the fluid pressure theload ofthe spring,and eventhe valve feather retreats sufficiently from free the outer seat surface 2i washer and-the inner seat surface '28, and such fluid as escapes over the inner rib enters the conflned space provided by the groove 2' beneath the overhan ng part ,of the valve feather, and reacts against the larger area of the valve feather to effect commonly emsafety valves to insure a sharp opening. In this particular instancethis huds ftive pressure of the fluid in the huddling chamber becomes operative to overcome this sticking and insure a clean and quick separation of the parts.

It is thus assured that although the seat bears against resilient material to prevent leakage,

nevertheless, at the popping pressure, the valve will open without danger of sticking,-the hudis crowded to-' between the Ill dling chamber action, resulting from the employ- I ment of the spaced seat surfaces, assisting in this quick, sharp openingand in providing for an effective blow-down effect.

While but two of the concentric seat surfaces are here illustrated,

it is to be understood that ai greater number might be employed if desired, and

while certain desirable arrangements for holding the resilient material in place are described, it is to be understood that other and equivalent means fall within the scope of the invention.

It is also contemplated that somewhat similar effects might be produced with a reverse arrangement of the parts, that is to say, one in which a substantially flat seat surface of resilient material would coact with the spaced annular rigid engaging surfaces carried by the valve feather. A further equivalent construction falling within the scope of the invention comprises resilient ribs meeting with' a substantially-flat rigid surface. It is further contemplated that any suitable yielding, plastic or resilient material may be employed in accordance with the requirements of each individual case, and that the inalents of the materials and arrangements herein specifically described.

limited to any particular I dimensions and is considered to include all equiv- While, for convenience in description, such terms as top, bottom, "upper, under, etc.,

n predetermined pressure and to have a predetere mined blow-down, said valve having a casing, a

movable .val-ve feather within the casing, said yieldable contact spaced concentric substantially rigid annular ribs whose free edges both engage the resilient contact surface of the feather when the valve is closed, the space between the ribs constituting a huddling chamber, the outer rib being lower than the other, whereby as the pressure beneath the valve feather nears the popping point, pressure fluid leaking past the inner rib into the huddling chamber between the ribs reacts against the overhanging part of the valve feather so as to free the feather and ensure sharpopening.

2. A pressure-actuated automatic relief valve comprising a movable valve feather and yieldable loading means normally operative to hold the feather in valve-closing position, said feather having a resilient and yieldable seat contacting element, and a valve seat cooperable with the valve feather, said seat comprising parts spaced to provide a huddling chamber between them and being so designed and arranged that when the valve is closed one of said parts of the seat indents the resilient contact element of the feather more deeply than does the other of said parts of the seat, whereby as the fluid pressure nearly approaches the predetermined opening pressure the resiliency of the yieldable contact element assists the fluid pressure in overbalancing the loading means andthe less deeply indented portion of the contact element separates from the seat before the valve actually opens so that leakage of pressure fluid into the huddling chamber ensures a sharp opening of the valve and complete separation of the feather from the seat.

3. A pressure-actuated relief valve designed to pop automatically at a definite predetermined pressure and to have a. predetermined blow-down,

said valve having a casing including a base member having a fluid passage terminating at an annular seat concentric with the passage, a valve feather cooperable with the seat to stop the flow of pressure fluid through the passage, said feather 5 comprising a guide member which slides in the fluid passage thereby to center the valve feather relatively to the seat, the lower surface of the channel within which is housed a resilient annu- 10 said valve having a casing including a base mempassage, a valve feather cooperable with the seat to stop the member coaxial with the feather, means normally by to center the feather with respect to the seat, the under surface of the feather having a shallow annular channel therein, a washer of rubberlike resiliency seated in said channel with its marginal portion spaced to provide a huddling chamber between ERNEST B. CROCKER. 50, 

